Trump’s tariffs are gutting Africa — and America’s influence
7/8/2025: The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), enacted in 2000, was a rare US gesture of goodwill, granting 32 sub-Saharan nations duty-free access to American markets for textiles, cocoa, and automotives. Set to expire in September 2025, AGOA is likely dead, analysts say, with Trump favoring bilateral deals over multilateral pacts.
Source: Devex
Is Israel committing genocide in Gaza?
6/8/2025: In January 2024, the International Court of Justice issued a provisional ruling that Israel must take all measures to prevent a genocide from occurring in Gaza. Five Australian experts in international law and genocide offer their opinion as to whether the evidence shows one is occurring.
Source: The Conversation
Afghanistan: relentless repression 4 Years into Taliban rule
5/8/2025: The Taliban have deepened their repression since taking over Afghanistan in 2021, by intensifying restrictions on the rights of women and girls, detaining journalists, and silencing all dissent, according to Human Rights Watch. The country's humanitarian crisis is exacerbated by donor governments’ aid cuts and the return of 1.9 million refugees expelled from Iran and Pakistan.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Nearly 2 million refugees at risk as Uganda’s resources dwindle
4/8/2025: Uganda is on the verge of hosting two million refugees as escalating crises in Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) drive people to cross the border. Uganda is already Africa’s largest refugee-hosting country and the third largest globally.
Source: UN Refugee Agency
Gates Foundation will spend $2.5 billion to boost women’s health
4/8/2025: The Gates Foundation is committing to spend $2.5 billion over five years to advance more than 40 promising innovations to improve women’s health outcomes. The Foundation is also investing to ensure innovations reach the women who need them, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Source: Devex
UN talks could end tax dodging by international corporations
4/8/2025: New global tax rules in an UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation are being negotiated, from now until 2027. The UN process could end creative accounting practices that deprive poorer countries of vital tax revenues needed for development.
Source: Greenpeace International
UN releases proposals for streamlining of mandates
1/8/2025: The UN is guided by more than 40,000 active mandates, serviced by around 400 intergovernmental bodies. The Secretary-General’s UN80 Initiative is tackling the duplication, fragmentation and outdated tasks that stretch resources and undermine delivery.
Source: UN News
Gaza: ‘No one should ever be forced to risk their life to find food’
1/8/2025: As Gaza faces famine-like conditions, more than 100 people have been killed, and hundreds of others injured, along food convoy routes and near Israeli-militarised distribution hubs in the past two days alone. Two hunger indicators now exceed the famine threshold, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Source: UN News
UN report warns of missed SDG targets in Africa
30/7/2025: Africa is making progress on over two-thirds of the Sustainable Development Goals, but the pace remains far too slow to meet the 2030 targets. The continent faces an annual sustainable development financing gap of up to USD 762 billion. Social protection coverage remains alarmingly low, with only 19 percent of vulnerable populations benefiting from any form of safety net.
Source: Inter Press Service
UN renews push for two-State solution for Gaza conflict
30/7/2025: The UN Secretary-General has reiterated that there is no alternative to the two-State solution to achieving lasting peace in the Middle East. The US and Israel did not participate in a UN conference to jumpstart political momentum toward ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Source: UN News